1. Field
This application relates generally to a drawing table for creating or modifying a computer-generated image, and, more specifically, to a drawing table configured to reduce parallax error.
2. Related Art
In traditional animation, the individual frames of a film are photographs of drawings, which are first drawn on paper. To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs slightly from the one before it. The completed drawings are then photographed onto motion picture film.
Traditional, paper-drawn animation has been enhanced by computer systems. Drawings are either scanned instead of photographed or drawn directly into a computer system. However, unlike paper and pencil, when drawing directly into a computer system, the input device, such as a stylus or finger, is separated from the actual drawing.
For example, FIG. 1 shows a drawing table 100 used to create or modify a computer-generated image. When an animator moves stylus 110 on tablet 120, the computer-generated image drawn by the animator appears on display 130. The coordinates of stylus 110 on tablet 120 are translated to coordinates on display 130. However, stylus 120 is completely separated from the actual computer-generated image displayed on display 130. Thus, detailed, fine shading and accurate placement of lines may be difficult to achieve.
In some drawing tables, the tablet and the display are integrated to allow an animator to draw directly on the display. However, the display typically has a barrier above the surface on which the computer-generated image is actually displayed. This barrier creates a perceptible thickness between the tip of the stylus and the computer-generated image on the display, preventing the tip of the stylus from touching the computer-generated image underneath and introducing parallax error between them.